The Verdict is Guilty
by Bluebell Winter
Summary: Instead of turning to Bella for help when Embry starts acting weird, Jacob turns to Bella's twin sister, Karielle, for help, since Jacob knows that Embry would listen to her. Karielle goes to get answers for Jacob, but she might get more instead. OC/Embry. Two-shot. Set during New Moon.
1. The Verdict is Guilty

A/N: It's based off of that scene in Chapter 7 of New Moon.

The face-claim to Karielle is Ava Allan.

* * *

_"'Cause in the interest of all involved, I got the problem solved,  
__And the verdict is guilty…"  
_Spit It Out – Slipknot

* * *

Chapter 1: **The Verdict is Guilty**

* * *

I walked up to Billy's house, holding a soccer ball that I had gotten to practice with when I played on the school's team. Now that the soccer season was over and done with for the rest of the year, I wasn't ready to part with soccer. So I knocked on the door and Jacob answered it. He looked at me and looked slightly disappointed. I almost rolled my eyes, since it was obvious he was expecting someone who didn't wear black jeans that were ripped at the knees and lace-up black chunky boots, e.g., my twin sister, Bella.

I held up the soccer ball and smiled, "You promised me that we'll kick this around."

Jacob jolted like he realized something, probably remembering that he had promised me that we'll hang out today, and looked over his shoulder.

Billy rolled up to look over Jacob's shoulder. He smiled at me, "Hello, Karielle, it's nice to see that you're doing well. How's your dad and Bella doing?"

"Dad is doing splendidly since Bella started getting over her break-up with The-Guy-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named," I said.

"You mean He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" Jacob asked.

"Never associate the sheer awesomeness of the Dark Lord with someone like_ Edward Cullen_," I spat, putting as much hatred as I can in the dick's name.

Jacob recoiled a little and looked at Billy, "We're going out back. Call us if you need anything."

"Okay, you two have fun," Billy said. "Help yourself to any refreshments if you need, Karielle."

"Thank you," I said.

He and my dad were the only people I allowed to call me by my full name. Why I allow Billy to call me by my full name was because I overheard him telling my dad that he prefers Karielle than Kari, so I told him that he can call me Karielle. I still remember how happy he looked when I told him that.

Jacob headed out back and I stopped to look at Billy, who looked a bit worried. I frowned, "Are you okay, Billy?"

Billy nodded, "Yeah, but I am worried about Jacob and if he—never mind, I'm worrying over nothing. You can go, Karielle."

"If you need help, I'll help you and Jacob," I said.

"I think I got it, but thank you for the offer," Billy said. "You can go."

I nodded, "Well, I'm here if you need anything."

Billy gave me a smile of thanks, "If I need anything."

I nodded and went out back to where Jacob was. Jacob looked deep in thought and I went over and grabbed his shoulder, startling him.

"Hey, where's Embry? It seems like when I show up, he's here," I asked.

Jacob shrugged, "Probably cliff-diving with Sam, Jared, and Paul."

"In the middle of _winter_?" I asked incredulously.

"They're doing that just to show off," Jacob grumbled.

I didn't know who Sam, Jared, or Paul was, but I figured they were probably Embry's other friends. People were allowed to have other friends. I considered Embry, Jacob, and Quil friends, even though my best friends were Wendy and Tinsley, who I met when we tried out for the school's soccer team.

"That's what it sounds like they're doing," I said. "But we're here to kick this back and forth."

"Yeah," said Jacob, sounding glad to have a distraction. At least, that's what I think he was happy for.

We kicked the ball back and forth for a little bit when I noticed that Jacob seemed to be getting a bit more disgruntled.

I asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's Embry, actually. I don't know why he's been avoiding me lately," said Jacob to me as he halfheartedly kicked the soccer ball towards me.

"Well, you've been hanging out with Bella a lot recently," I pointed out. It almost made my eye twitch. I don't know what the hell everyone saw in her. It's like she had the ability to give every man in the vicinity raging boners, well, except for our dad. That would be disgusting. "So it's understandable that he'll go hang out with his other friends."

"No, that's not it. He wasn't even friends with Sam, Jared, and Paul, before he started hanging out with them," Jacob said.

"Okay, maybe he has a girlfriend who's friends with them and he decided to spend some time with her, which in turn, involves him hanging out with them," I said. The thought of him having a girlfriend gave me a slight pang of jealousy.

Jacob shook his head, "No, there's no girl with them. Besides, he has a crush on you and he'll feel bad for leading on another girl even if he's trying to move on from you." He added, "Besides, would he really miss a week of school just to be with this girl?"

I thought about it as I ran my hand through my brown hair in slight agitation over this situation with Embry. What the hell is going on with him? "Maybe she does drugs, or she goes to a different school, or she goes to a different school and does drugs."

Jacob shook his head once more. "No, once there was this guy from up somewhere by the Makah rez, big guy, too, scary-looking. Well, word got around that he was selling meth to kids, and Sam Uley, the guy that I told you that Embry is hanging out with, and his _disciples_ ran him off _our land_. They're all about our land and _tribe pride_…it's getting ridiculous. The worst part is that the council takes them seriously."

He sounded uncharacteristically angry at Sam and his "_disciples._"

I wondered why. Maybe it was irrational hatred for them, like my irrational hatred towards the goddamn Cullens. God, seriously, screw those guys. Well, screw The-Guy-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named harder, because of what he did to Bella.

"Well, what if she isn't part of the rez?" I asked, twisting my left hand forefinger ring around. "What if he's going to this chick's place instead?"

"I think they would know," Jacob replied. "Embry said that the council actually meets with Sam and he also heard from Leah Clearwater that they call themselves 'protectors' or something like that, so I don't think Embry's going to do drugs with a mythical girlfriend that lives off the land."

To be honest, I didn't see what was wrong with some people getting together to protect the land and keep it drug-free. It was actually pretty cool, to be honest. However, I think Jacob would get mad at me for taking Sam's side.

"What jerks," I said. "Who do they think they are? Wannabe sheriffs?" I scoffed, "Pathetic."

"I know," said Jacob. "They're always showing off."

I said, "So they're wannabe tough guys? That's one of the worst types of guys out there." I had my fair share of dealing with wannabe tough guys. "They're so damn annoying."

Jacob nodded, "Yeah. I was hanging out at the store with Embry and Quil once, last semester, and Sam came by with his _followers_, Jared and Paul. Quil said something, you know how he's got a big mouth, and it pissed Paul off."

I nodded, "He probably insulted them." That sounded like something Quil would do.

"Yeah, Paul's eyes got all dark, and he sort of smiled," Jacob explained, "No, he showed his teeth but he didn't smile—"

"He snarled at you guys," I corrected. "Showing his teeth, but not smiling, it's called snarling."

"Right," Jacob said. "He snarled at us and he seemed so mad that he was shaking or something. But Sam put his hand against Paul's chest and shook his head. Paul looked at him for a minute and calmed down. Honestly, it was like Sam was holding him back—like Paul was going to tear us up if Sam didn't stop him."

"That's so weird," I said. What was up with that?

Jacob nodded, "You know, Sam's a pretty big guy, he's twenty. But Paul's just sixteen, too, shorter than me and not as beefy as Quil. I think any one of us could take him."

I nodded, however I didn't see that. "Yeah, you could. But why is a twenty-year-old man antagonizing teens?"

Jacob shrugged. "Don't know. He's supposed to go to college, but he stayed. And no one gave him any crap about it. The whole council pitched a fit when Rebecca turned down a partial scholarship and got married. But, oh, no, Sam Uley can do no wrong."

"Or maybe they had a bitch-fit because they knew Rebecca could make something out of herself, but knew that Sam can't, so they didn't complain when he refused," I joked.

Jacob laughed at that.

I said, "You know, people fall into the wrong crowd all the time. It happens. I've seen it happen." Granted, sometimes that ended up in tragedy, but still…it happens.

"Kari, he told me that they've been bugging him constantly, and now Embry's following Sam around like he's joined a cult," explained Jacob. "And that's the way it was with Paul."

"Really?" I asked.

"It was just exactly the same. Paul wasn't friends with Sam at all. Then he stopped coming to school for a few weeks, and, when he came back, suddenly Sam owned him," Jacob explained. "I don't know what it means."

"It means that Sam somehow made both Embry and Paul his bitches," I said.

Jake gave me an exasperated look. "This is serious, Kari. I can't figure it out, and I feel like I have to, because Embry's my friend…and Sam's looking at me funny…and…" He trailed off looking worried.

"And you don't want to become Sam's bitch?" I finished for him. "Do you want me to talk some sense into Embry?"

Jacob nodded eagerly, "Yes. I was going to ask you, but I didn't know how to ask. You're the most likely person he'll listen to." He sounded as hopeful as I _didn't_ feel. "I _know_ you'll get through to him."

I nodded and swallowed thickly. I frowned, "Does his mother know about it? I mean skipping school and going to hang out on some cliffs?"

"She said that it's probably some sort of teenage rebellion thing," said Jacob shrugging. "She said that she skipped school a few times and hung out with her friends. So she isn't worried about it."

"Have you went to see him?" I asked.

Jacob nodded, "He wasn't home. It seems like he hasn't been home since he started hanging out with Sam."

"And now it's up to me to beat, I mean, talk some sense into him?" I said.

Jacob nodded, "Yeah."

"Okay, I'll do it, because you're my friend and I want to talk some sense into Embry about his choice of friends," I said.

Jacob looked a little relieved and thankful and hugged me, taking me by surprise. "Thank you, Kari."

I nodded and patted his back awkwardly. "You're welcome, Jake."

* * *

And that was how I, Karielle Elizabeth Swan, found myself, banging on the front to the Calls's house, swearing to every deity that I knew, that I will break down the goddamn door if Embry Call didn't freaking answer. I was considering if it was possible to break down the door using my rings. I wore three rings on both hands one on all of my fingers, excluding my thumbs and pinkies. Then I considered the idea that I'll most likely either dislocate my fingers or break them.

Then I considered the possibility that maybe he wasn't home or maybe he was sleeping in. I know that he wasn't much of a morning person, especially when he was forced to wake up.

When I stayed the night at Billy's house with Rebecca and Rachel, Embry was always there to stay the night with Jacob. I could be screaming bloody murder and those boys would _sleep_ in. And why am I suddenly thinking about their screwed up sleeping habits? Especially _Embry's_? Why do I have this knowledge? What use do I have for it? I suppose that's because I do think of him as a friend. I've known him when I was ten; he was my first kiss when I was thirteen and he was twelve, which was under some mistletoe at a Christmas party my dad have gone to on the reservation.

But does that mean I have to know Embry's sleeping habits?

Or maybe that's Embry's way of getting under my skin, making sure that I don't forget him. How could I? He's my friend…and I happen to develope a crush on him…which I was sure was his way of annoying me. Granted, he was always there for me, like that one day at First Beach last year and then I took him to the prom. He made sure I went because he thought that I couldn't have fun and he offered to go, even if it was just as friends. Just because he offered to go as friends, I decided to have him go as my date, just because he wanted to go as a friend.

He was also there to celebrate my birthday with my dad, Wendy, and Tinsley, while Bella ran off to celebrate with her precious _vampires_. He was also there to listen to me bitch and moan over The-Guy-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named putting Bella in a depressed state.

I must've been too lost in thought because I almost squeaked in surprised at a very disgruntled and tired looking Embry throwing open the door.

"Is there any reason why you're pissed off at my front door?" asked Embry sounding very disgruntled.

I felt guilty for waking him up. I mean, I was a bit of a bitch for coming around and banging on his front door like I was ready to break it down. To be fair, I didn't know if he was home or not. Even Jacob said that Embry wasn't there every time he came by. However, that didn't give me a reason to obnoxiously bang on his door.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times before saying, "Sorry."

He didn't seem to hear me because he was giving this strange look that made me look down at my shirt.

I was wearing an aquamarine plaid lace-up tunic sweatshirt, the sleeves were dark gray and the rest was plaid. I made sure I had tied the top halves closely together, which I did.

I wanted to make sure that I wasn't accidentally flashing him my bra. Again. On the bright side, that could've been worse, on the downside, he had something to brag about to his friends.

"I'm really sorry?" I offered. I stuck my hands in my fur-lined gray zip-up hoodie.

Embry was still giving me that strange look, but he stepped aside, allowing me inside his home.

I walked in and looked around. I had never been inside the Calls' home before. I mean, I've always waited outside with Billy prior to the accident, when he went to pick up Embry.

It was homely. It had a couch, two chairs, a TV, among other things. As I set my hoodie on the back of the couch, I noticed that there were some pictures of Embry when he was a kid.

I was surprised to see that there was even a picture of me and Embry from the prom.

I had to do a double-take when I saw it. I know that we had gotten strange looks at the dance because of our choice in outfits. Lauren had gotten angry over the fact that I hadn't worn a dress and somehow ruined the stupid prom by not dressing appropriately.

Embry had worn a plain black tee-shirt and black jeans. He even had a chain dangling from the belt-loops.

I wore a slightly above knee-length black poodle skirt with pink lace at the bottom and a red wine square neck tank top that was laced at the cups and was embroidered at the cups. I had worn my black chunky boots to complete the whole outfit.

I had paid money to get our pictures taken by a professional. I had asked for two pictures so I can send one to Embry. I had one proudly framed in the living room at home. Dad had a good laugh at my outfit when he drove up to an empty parking lot to figure out why there was a drunken person trying to leave the lot. Instead it turned out to be Embry driving my car and me trying to teach him how to drive. He let us go, as long as I was the one to drive him home.

"You framed the picture?" I asked feeling a little touched at the sight of it.

"Well, my mom framed it and hung it there," said Embry. "Quil and Jacob laughed when they saw it. Quil still laughs when he sees it." He sounded sad when he mentioned Jacob and Quil. "Where did you find that skirt at anyway? My mom kept asking."

"I found it at a second-hand shop," I said. "It was probably someone's Halloween costume. It was one of the nicer looking skirts there." Besides, I wasn't going to shell out hundreds of dollars on a dress that I'll most likely wear once.

"So, do you want me to get you something to drink or something to eat while you tell me why you were trying to break my door down?" asked Embry.

I considered telling him that I could make him something to eat as an apology for nearly breaking his door down, but I'm sure that it'll be considered rude, having the guest making something. "I would like some hot chocolate, please." I added, "Again, sorry for trying to break down your door."

"Its fine," said Embry as he led me to the kitchen. I was feeling awkward now that I was here. I sat down at the hardwood table and stared at it.

"Do you like milk or water with your hot chocolate?" Embry asked.

I looked at him, "Milk. I'm not a heathen who uses water instead of milk."

"My mom uses water instead of milk," Embry said with a smile.

I gasped in mock horror. "She's blaspheming in the name of the hot chocolate gods." I was joking of course. I didn't care if someone preferred water over milk or vice versa.

I got a chuckle out of that and I felt accomplished over it, although I wasn't sure why since I made him laugh before.

Embry set a mug of hot chocolate down in front of me. "Again, is there any reason why you're here?"

"I can't grace you with my pretty face?" I teased.

He was leaning against the counter and holding his own mug of hot chocolate. "I'll be honored to have your pretty face grace me every morning." He was smirking and I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. I was also side-tracked by noticing how hot he was looking. He was wearing red flannel pajama pants and a black band tee-shirt.

_Don't stare, don't stare,_ I told myself. I forced myself to look at the wall.

"What do you know about werewolves?" Embry asked me.

_What the hell?_ I thought, _What kind of question is that?_ I shrugged, "Uh…they're mythical creatures?" I never gave any thought to werewolves because they didn't interest me. Now true crime interested me, which is why I wanted to be a forensic pathologist.

"The vampire that your sister dated, is he considered mythical?" Embry asked sounding curious.

"Technically, he's folkloric, not mythical," I countered. I faltered as Embry raised an eyebrow at that. I continued, "_If_ he was a vampire."

I had the strange feeling that he knew that The-Guy-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named was a vampire. I didn't know how he knew, but he did. However, Embry just seemed amused at my stumble. I looked at him suspiciously, "How and when did you find out?"

"When I transformed into a werewolf," Embry said.

I think my brain shut down at the word 'werewolf'. "Huh?"

"I'm a werewolf," Embry said.

I couldn't get my mind around the thought of him being a werewolf. It was just so…preposterous. I forced a laugh, "Come on, Embry. That's…" I trailed off. Vampires existed, so why the hell not werewolves? But werewolves…

"Okay," I said, my voice sounding higher-pitched to me. "Let's say that werewolves exist…"

"Let's say that your sister didn't date a vampire," Embry mimicked in a high-pitched voice.

I laughed, feeling a bit of tension leave my body. I didn't even know I had tensed up. I started, "Okay, let's try this again. Say that you're a werewolf—"

"I am," Embry interrupted sounding completely serious about it.

"Okay, you're a werewolf." I said, feeling strange about him saying that he's a werewolf, even though my sister dated a _vampire_. "What's up with the murders then?"

"We're not killing anyone," Embry said quickly. "We're just trying to protect people."

"I never said that you're killing anyone," I countered. "Do you know who's killing people? I mean, you must have some idea or a profile about it or something."

"It's some vampires," Embry said.

I stared at him, because of a few things. One: It's always vampires, because my stupid sister had to get involved with the damned things. Two: I stared at him because I found him attractive, even though he's saying that he's a werewolf. "Oh," I replied stupidly.

The third thing dawned on me: my dad could get killed! "My dad might get killed!"

"Don't worry," Embry said calmly.

"How can I not worry? My dad could get killed by vampires!" I shouted at him, slightly irritated at the fact that he was calm over the possibility that my dad might get killed by vampires.

"I'll protect him," Embry said sounding sincere about it. "And I'll protect you, too. I think they might be going after you and Bella."

"Why not Bella first since she's the ones that's involved with them?" I asked.

Embry scoffed, "She's _not_ my concern, _you_ are."

It made me feel better that at least _someone_ I knew wasn't getting a hard-on for her. "Thanks, Embry." It was nice to have someone looking out for me. "But what about Jacob?"

"He might be a werewolf too," Embry said.

"Might be?" I asked.

"Billy carries the werewolf gene, so it makes sense that Jacob will become a werewolf. Once he shifts, he'll be a part of Sam's pack. Sam's waiting for him to change." Embry explained, "Whenever that happens. I'm not supposed to tell anyone outside of the pack except for—" He cut off.

That explains why Embry was running around with Sam and his friends. And why he's been avoiding Jacob and Quil. At least he didn't have a girlfriend or was doing drugs, or doing drugs with his girlfriend.

"Oh, okay," I said. "And here I was thinking that you're off visiting your junkie girlfriend and doing drugs with her."

"How did you get me visiting some junkie from avoiding Jacob and Quil?" asked Embry confused.

I shrugged, "It does happen. I mean avoiding school, falling with the outcasts, avoiding friends you've known for years."

"If that happened, Sam would've run me off the land," Embry said.

I nodded, "Yeah, Jake explained that meth dealer situation to me." I took a gulp of hot chocolate and I realized something. "You cut yourself off when talking. You said that you're not supposed to tell people outside of the pack 'except for' and then you cut yourself off."

"Oh, yeah, apparently if you find your imprintee we're allowed to tell them," Embry said.

"Imprintee?" I asked my interest caught at imprintee.

"They're sort of like our soul mate," Embry said. "Once we find them, we're bound to them for life. We can be anything they want us to be."

"Sounds abusive," I pointed out.

"Really?" asked Embry. "Why?"

"Would you appreciate it if I told you who to be?" I asked. "Like if I went up to you and told you to, I don't know, be a mortician, instead of you wanting to, I actually don't know, say be a dentist, despite studying to be a dentist."

Embry squinted at me, "I'd rather be a baker. Or something else. I hadn't really given it much thought."

I couldn't picture him being a baker, but there's always more to people. I said, "Yeah, if you told me to be an artist instead of a forensic pathologist, I'll be pissed."

"I would never tell you to follow a career you don't want," Embry said.

"Thanks," I said. "I would never tell you to have a career you wouldn't want, too."

I realized that somewhere along the way, he had ended up standing next to me. He was looking down at me and I was looking up at him. He leaned his head a little farther down and I realized that he wanted to kiss me, but he was waiting for me to either kiss him or turn him down.

I grabbed the back of his head and brought him down so I could kiss him. He seemed to have been taken aback by my actions and for a few worrying moments, I wondered if I had misread the atmosphere, but he started kissing me back, and I was relieved over that. I stood up, trying hard to keep our lips together, and he grabbed my waist, pulling me closer to him.

I put one arm around his neck as I put one hand on his shoulder and our kiss deepened.

Someone knocked loudly on the door and I almost climbed up Embry because it startled me.

"And you said that I sounded like I was going to break down your door?" I joked.

"You were worse," Embry said. He looked slightly irritated, kissed me before he went to answer the door.

I sat down at the table and drank the rest of my hot chocolate so it didn't go to waste. I tapped my fingers on the surface. Embry returned with a man who looked to be in his twenties.

The man gave me a strange look and I briefly looked down to make sure that Embry hadn't somehow untied my shirt without me noticing. He hadn't.

"I didn't know that you had company," the man said and looked at Embry. He was looking at us a little closely for some reason. I think he was looking for any signs of a one-night stand or something.

"Kari, this is Sam," Embry said to me. "Sam, this is Kari Swan." He paused and added, "My imprintee." He sounded proud over the fact.

Sam looked a little surprised, but he seemed to get over it. "It's finally nice to meet the girl that he's head over heels over in love with."

I almost blushed at that. I was sure that Embry was more embarrassed over that than I was. "Oh, well, it's nice to finally meet the man that ran a meth dealer off the land." I gave him thumbs up, "Very brave of you to do so."

Sam seemed proud that I knew of his accomplishment. I glanced at Embry and saw that he looked a little jealous.

With a bit of shame and guilt, I realized that it may have seemed like I was flirting with Sam. I'll make it up to Embry later.

I started, "Well, I better get going."

"You can stay," Embry said quickly.

"I told Jacob that I was going to see what's going on with you, and I think I've stayed here a little longer than I probably should have," I said. "I can probably go buy him a party sized bag of chips and something for lunch to make the long trip more believable. Besides, I don't want to intrude on your wolf-y business."

"You're not intruding," Embry said.

"I'm glad for that," I said, "But I really have to get going." I stood up and went put my mug in the sink. I felt awkward as hell doing so. It felt more like Sam had been the unfortunate witness to the aftermath of a one-night stand than interrupting two teens making out.

I turned and noticed that Sam was scrutinizing me and Embry looked like he was feeling as awkward as I felt.

"Don't tell Bella about werewolves existing," Embry said.

I nodded, "Noted." It would be fair, considering that she 'forgot' to tell me about vampires existing, until the both of us got kidnapped by them. I walked to the couch to get my jacket and I put it on. I looked at Embry, "We'll talk about more about our relationship, later, okay?"

Embry nodded, "Okay."

I kissed him before leaving. I knew that we were going to have talk about our relationship, but that was going to have to wait, he had werewolf-y things to attend to.

* * *

A/N: This turned out longer than I expected.

I also made Embry seventeen because the two-year age gap would've been awkward for me if Embry was eleven and kissed a thirteen-year-old Kari. There's nothing wrong with a two-year age gap, but it's a little weird for me if they were kids.

Also, if anyone wants me to write out them going to the prom, I would.

The next chapter would be Bella finding out that Karielle is now dating a werewolf.

Edit: 11/21/19:

To Ophelia: Since you said 'please', I have removed the part where Embry dated to get over Kari.


	2. Stay Away

A/N: I apologize that this is a lot shorter than the first chapter and I apologize if this isn't as great as the first chapter either.

Based off of Chapter 14 of New Moon.

* * *

Summary: Bella finds out from the pack at Emily's house that Kari is dating Embry. Bella doesn't want Kari involved with werewolves and tells Kari to stay from Embry. Kari tells her that staying away from her boyfriend is something that she can't do.

* * *

"_I was told to stay away,_  
_Those two words I can't obey._"  
Your Betrayal - Bullet For My Valentine

* * *

Chapter 2: **Stay Away**

* * *

Sam kissed Emily when Jared said, "Hey, none of that, I'm eating. And it's worse than Embry and Kari making out."

Bella frowned at that and looked at Embry.

"We don't make out in front of you," Embry said. "Kari hates PDA, either seeing it or engaging in it."

"No, but you think about it a lot," Jared said.

"You're dating my sister?" asked Bella.

The realization dawned on her, why Embry had asked if she had brought Kari along with her earlier in the woods, despite apparently it's not allowed for her or Kari to be there and then how he got disappointed when Bella had said that Kari was back home.

Bella knew that Embry had harbored a crush on her sister, but she didn't realize that it had escalated into a relationship.

Embry looked confused at her. "How did you not notice?" He was squinting at her.

Bella wasn't sure how she didn't notice. She did notice how Embry seemed to be hanging around the house a little bit more lately, but she didn't know that it was because they were dating.

"I don't know," admitted Bella. Was she really that depressed that she didn't even know that her twin sister was dating someone? Bella wondered if Kari knew that Embry's a werewolf, but from the way Kari acted, Kari didn't seem to know.

* * *

**Kari's POV**

Billy had left Dad a voicemail saying that Bella was over at La Push, where spent the day. I figured that was where she was at, since she was friends with Jacob. I would've gone with her, so I could hang out with Embry, but since I had a lot of AP homework to do, so I stayed behind to do it, since it's supposed to help me be a forensic pathologist.

Besides that, I think Embry was busy searching for Victoria and I didn't want to side-track him.

So, Dad had bought three pizzas with him when we went to Billy's house. Jacob and Embry were there. I wasn't surprised to see Embry there, since he came up to me, pulled me in a hug and kissed my cheek. PDA always made me uncomfortable, which is seeing it and engaging in it. Little pecks here or there didn't matter, but full-on making out with someone in public would make me uncomfortable, either seeing it or engaging in it.

It just made people uncomfortable.

Besides that, Dad had figured out that I was dating Embry the moment I stepped inside the house. He was a sheriff, so it makes sense that he would figure it out quickly.

So after that, we gathered our pizza slices; Embry and Jacob had one of the large pizzas to themselves.

I ended up picking the bell peppers off of my slices since I didn't like them and passed them off to Embry, since he liked bell peppers. Usually I passed them off to Bella or my dad when we had pizza, but since Embry was around, I passed them to him.

"Hey, look, distraction," Embry said pointing at something. I turned to see what he was pointing at. I couldn't see anything and then I looked at him, and realized that he stolen some of my pepperoni.

"Hey," I said. "You have your own." I reached over to take his slice of pizza, but he held his plate out of reach. "That's not fair. You stole my pepperoni; let me steal your pizza."

"You have your own," Embry said, using my own words against me. I should've known that he would've said that.

"Kari, can I talk to you outside?" Bella asked me.

I looked at her to see that she had this strange wistful look on her face and the slightly jealous side of me thought: _Bitch, back off, he's mine._

"Okay," I said, pushing down the irrational jealousy. She used to have The-Guy-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named and practically the entire goddamn male population, so there was no need for her to have _my _boyfriend.

I followed after Bella.

"_Alone_," Bella said, looking off to the side.

I tuned to see Embry had moved to follow me. To him, I said, "Its fine." He nodded.

I followed Bella outside. She led me over to her truck and I tried not to look around just in case the vampires was lurking…watching us.

However, Jacob and Embry were inside, keeping an eye on us. Well, more like, Embry was keeping an eye on me, while Jacob kept an eye on Bella.

"What is it?" I asked Bella.

"You're dating Embry?" asked Bella.

I looked at her, "Yes?"

"And you didn't tell me?" asked Bella.

I shrugged, "I thought it was obvious. He's been hanging around a lot more lately. Dad figured it out before I even told him." At least he approves of Embry, unlike The-Guy-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named, so there's that.

"Oh," Bella said.

"Is that all you wanted?" I asked.

"I want you to stay away from Embry," Bella said.

I almost dropped my plate at that order. "What? Why?"

"Well…he's…" Bella stuttered, "Not right for you."

I arched an eyebrow at that, "I think I could tell who's wrong or right for me, thank you." I took a bite out of my pizza. I didn't want her advice, considering she dated one guy in her entire life.

"Well…he's dangerous," Bella stated.

I looked at her, "Newsflash, Bella, anything and anyone can be dangerous if we're given the right motivation. Be it good or bad."

Parents would do anything to protect their kids. Although my mother was a bit scatter-brained, I don't doubt that she would move a mountain to protect Bella and me.

"And Embry's not dangerous," I added. "He's harmless."

The only time he would be dangerous is when he'll kill the vampires that are killing hikers or if something happened to me.

"You said that anything and anyone can be dangerous," said Bella.

Have I mentioned that it really pisses me off when someone throws my words back in my face? It's funny when Embry or my friends do it, since they're just messing around, but other than that, it irritates me.

So, I got angry at Bella for throwing those words in my face.

"At least he won't hurt me, unlike Edward," I said.

Bella recoiled and I think she nearly teared up at the name. "Don't say the name."

"Sorry," I replied. "Don't imply that Embry is a dick."

"Do you know that he's a _werewolf_?" Bella asked, lowering her voice to a whisper. I wasn't sure why she whispered. Who was she afraid of overhearing it? The trees? The cars?

"Yes," I said. I figured it would be better than lying to her.

"Y-you _knew_?" Bella sputtered. She sounded slightly insulted over the fact that I knew something that she didn't.

I nodded, "Yes. He told me not to tell anyone outside the pack."

"Yet he told you," Bella accused.

"That's because I'm his _girlfriend!_" I snapped at her.

She recoiled a little. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. It would be no use getting pissed off at her; she's basically a brick wall when it came to ignoring either my dad or I. "I am his girlfriend, so he felt that it was necessary to tell me." She didn't need to know about the imprinting aspect of it, yet.

"Well, you should break up with him anyway." Bella said, "He's dangerous."

"So, the brick house you dated wasn't dangerous?" I asked. "I mean, the statue wants to drink your _blood._ Well, actually, he wants to drink everyone's blood. How is that _not_ dangerous?"

"He's dangerous for you," Bella told me. "You don't know what he's capable of."

"I know what he's capable of, Bella," I said.

"He might hurt you," Bella stated.

"He'd want to kill himself if he hurts me," I snapped. I wish that aspect of being imprinted on didn't exist, yet, here we are.

Bella stayed quiet and I took a bite of my pizza, which was now cold.

Bella said, "That sounds unhealthy."

"Says the one that was obsessed with _Edward_ _Cullen_," I snapped, hating myself for even saying the goddamn name. I hated myself for even bringing up her obsession with him. Have I mentioned that she was catatonic when he broke up with her after they dated for six months?

"Just stay away from Embry," Bella said. She purposefully ignored me, which wasn't anything unusual.

"Why do you want me to stay away from him so damn bad?" I demanded.

"He's a werewolf, he might not be able to control himself around you," Bella said.

I wasn't entirely sure what she was hinting at. Did she mean Embry's anger, which he seemed to have a very good grasp on? Or was she implying that he might force himself on me? I didn't even have a single clue on what the hell she was implying.

"I think I know better than to anger him," I said. "Like I said, he won't hurt me."

"You don't know that," said Bella.

I glared at her, "I know a lot more than you do."

"Okay, they're hunting Victoria," Bella said.

I was trying to calm down. I just couldn't believe that Bella was telling me to break up with Embry. Even the thought of breaking up with him hurt me a bit. "I know that," I said. "I think Embry said that they killed one of them already. The black-haired one."

"That was Laurent," Bella said.

"And where are you going with this?" I asked. I wanted to go inside where it was warmer, safer, and where Embry was at. I still wanted to steal his slice of pizza to get back at him for stealing my pepperoni.

Bella started, "If they can kill a vampire…"

"I'm glad that they're able to kill vampires," I said. "I'm glad that Embry is trying to protect me."

"That's the key word, 'trying'," Bella said. "If you don't think he can't fully protect you, you shouldn't be with him."

"I say 'try' because he can't be out there 24/7," I said. "He does have a life outside of me, you know. We don't always have to be around each other, you know."

Bella gave me a strange look, like she didn't understand what I meant. Then again, she probably didn't. She spent all her time with the brick houses and read literature that she thought was romantic, e.g. _Romeo and Juliet_, so I wouldn't be surprised if her views on what is healthy and unhealthy was warped.

"That is about as healthy as Fredrick and Miranda's 'relationship' in _The Collector,_" I said.

_The Collector_ wasn't even a romance novel, unless someone's idea of romance is being held hostage in a bunker by a man who thought that kidnapping a woman would make her fall in love with him, even buying her things to buy her love. How's that for romantic? I loved the book and movie, since it was an interesting concept.

"So, why do you want me to stay away from Embry, anyway?" I asked.

"I don't want you to be a part of this world," Bella said. "It's too dangerous for you."

"Too late for that," I said. "And I won't stay from him. That's something that I won't listen to. And I think I'm used to danger. I learned that the hard way."

I still had some scars on me from when I was thrown into fallen glass. I still remembered James slapping me and calling me 'Kar-Kar,' which just pissed me off. It made me cringe when I think of it. Then there was that concussion when James got irritated with me and threw me headfirst into the barre of the ballet studio because I wouldn't shut up.

At least I didn't get bitten by a vampire. I really didn't want to know who would've sucked the venom out of me if that happened. I kind of figured that it would've been Jasper if that happened, but then I figured it might've been the manic pixie, Alice, who would've done it. It's something that I don't want to think about.

"I really am sorry you go dragged into that," said Bella. "I even bought you a cupcake to make up for it."

"I know," I said. It was a red velvet cupcake, a flavor that I don't like. Needless to say, Tinsley ended up eating that.

She loved anything that was red, including her red hair. She wore a lot of red clothes and had red nail polish. I never saw anyone wear so much red before. "I forgave you for pulling me into danger."

"Sometimes it doesn't _feel_ like it," Bella said.

"I forgive you for not telling me," I said. That was the truth and I understand why she didn't tell me, especially since I promised not to tell Bella about the werewolves, since she wasn't supposed to know. "I just don't forgive the ice sculptures for putting us both in danger and I _don't_ like them. Especially with what your ex did to you." I swear to every deity I knew, if that guy shows up on my property, I'm ripping off his sorry penis and duct-taping it to his stupid Volvo.

"Why don't you like them?" asked Bella. "They saved your life from James and Victoria."

I shrugged, "I don't know why I don't like them. I hated them the moment I saw them. Sam thinks that Embry may have subconsciously imprinted on me when before he shifted and that it maybe my hatred towards them have rubbed off on me."

"Imprinted?" asked Bella. She was giving me a strange look.

"When a werewolf finds their soulmate, they imprint on them," I said lamely. "It's hard to explain. Basically I'm Embry's soul mate, so that means I can't really break up with him. And if I could, I don't want to."

Ever since I started dating Embry, it felt like a part of me had become whole, even though I never really felt like something was missing, cliché as that sounded.

"How come you didn't tell me?" Bella asked.

Sometimes it felt like talking to Bella was like talking to a brick wall. I shrugged, "Like I said, I thought it was obvious. You didn't tell me about your vampires until I woke up in the hospital."

"But I told you about them," Bella said.

"What were doing here in La Push anyway in the morning?" I asked. I know that she was friends with Jacob and I didn't find it that strange, but from what Bella said in the voicemail she left for our dad, she had gotten her

"I…just had a funny feeling that Jacob was a werewolf and I came to talk to him," Bella said.

She was lying. From what I heard, Bella had came here before the sun was up. What the hell was she doing here that early?

I wasn't sure how she found out about werewolves though. I highly doubt Jacob would take a risk on telling Bella, who wasn't his imprintee, as far as I know, so she must've found out somehow. She didn't know Jared, Paul, or Sam, so there is no way that they would've told her. Embry didn't know Bella that well, either, so how did she find out, though? Or was it one of the vampires?

If she was telling the truth on her having a 'funny feeling', I'll eat my cold-shoulder red wine block lace-up tee-shirt, which I'm currently wearing. If she was telling the truth, I'll eat my boots along with my shirt.

"You're lying," I said.

Bella scoffed, "No, I'm not."

"You're a terrible liar," I said. "Who told you?"

"No one," said Bella.

I think that was the truth. I had the feeling that I wasn't going to get any answers from her, so I decided to let it slide for now.

"I take it that you're not going to stay away from Embry, right?" asked Bella.

I shook my head, "No. And you can't make me." With that, I went back inside Billy's home.

* * *

After dinner, Embry held my hand as he walked me to my Dad's cruiser.

"What did Bella want?" Embry asked, sounding curious.

"She told me to stay away from you," I said.

"And what did you say?" asked Embry.

"I told her that I won't," I said shrugging. "It's fine."

It was. I looked over to see Jacob and Bella talking. My dad was busy pretending to fiddle with his seat belt in the cruise and was looking at Bella and I.

"Maybe you should come down tomorrow," said Embry.

"Yeah, I can bring Wendy and Tinsley with me," I said. "We can have a bonfire on the beach. Invite everyone in the pack."

"Sure," said Embry.

"Stay safe," I said to Embry.

"You too," Embry told me. He kissed me before he walked back to Billy's house.

I got in the my dad's car and waited for Jacob and Bella to finish their conversation, so we can follow her out.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's all for this story.

And Kari is just showing her hatred for the vampires, especially the Cullens, by insulting their attributes. I didn't want to call them leeches or bloodsuckers or whatever, since I kind of found it silly and decided to get creative with insulting the vampire-race.


End file.
